Hey!
PLEASE HEED MY WARNING: YOU WILL NOT LIKE THE ENDING OF THIS STORY. NO ONE DIES OR ANYTHING, AND IT'S STILL TECHNICALLY JARA, BUT...IF YOU DON'T WANT THAT, DON'T READ AFTER THE LAST LINE BREAK. BUT IF YOU DO READ, MAKE SURE YOU READ MY BOLD COMMENTS AT THE BOTTOM, AS A QUICK EXPLANATION! LOVE YA
Enjoy!
"Again?" Mara whispered, she wiped her eyes harshly, clutching Joy's scarf in her hands. "You were with her...again?" Jerome couldn't face her. He sat on the edge of the bed, still shirtless, hair still scruffy, and Mara wanted to be sick. He'd slept with Joy. He'd done it. For the fourth time in their marriage. He was breathing deeply, and the window was open, from where Joy had made her great escape, just a few minutes before. "I mean...what?" Mara gave a nervous laugh "Did she learn a new position the two of you just had to try out?" Jerome still couldn't face her, and Mara wiped her tears away fruitlessly "Do you love her, Jerome? Do you love how she makes you feel?" Her gaze went to his pale back, and there were scratches, long red scratches of passion, and Mara hadn't drawn them. She would never hurt Jerome, even if he wanted her too, which he apparently did, given there were so many. Some were faded, from the first time he'd done it with her, some of bright red, from today. "She makes you feel good doesn't she Jerome? Doesn't the slut?"
Jerome whipped around at that word leaving Mara's lips. She hated swearing, and he didn't like hearing her swear. "Mara," he whispered, just seeing her sent another wave of guilt coursing through him. "I..." he shook his head, at a total loss for word "She...we..."
"If you love her, Jerome," Mara whispered, wiping away her tears "Why don't you just please, please, please, please divorce me? Because I love you too much to divorce you, so just do it!"
"I can't!" he whispered, dropping to his knees in desperation as he looked up at her, eyes glistening "I can't divorce you Mara, I love you-"
"Then why?!" She screamed in pain, stepping away "If you love me like you claim why? Why do you keep hurting me Jerome?" tears streamed down her face "Why? Why do you keep seeing her? Why do you keep sleeping with her? In our bed! Why? Oh my god, why..." she trailed off, repeating it until the word lost meaning. "The first time, I forgave you. And you promised never again. The second time I forgave you, and you promised never again. The third time I forgave you, and you promised never again. This is the fourth time, Jerome...what do you promise?"
He stared at her. "Mara..."
"I'm begging you, Jerome." She whispered "I can't live like this,"
He didn't know how, but he nodded. He managed to nod, and Mara hiccupped gratefully. She stood, tossing Joy's scarf at him, and leaving the room.
Line Break
"Are you sure man?" He asked, touching the needle "It's gonna hurt. And it'll never go away. Like a scar."
"That exactly what I want." Jerome whispered, bracing himself.
Line Break
"Mara," Jerome whispered, he nodded. She was sat at the dining table, reading the newspaper.
"Jerome."
He sighed "Mara...You've known me since I was...eleven years old, right?" Mara nodded "You know I've always loved...always loved doing things I shouldn't. Breaking school rules, bullying my sister, black mailing my friends. I just..." he shook his head "I just get a thrill, it excites me and I love it,"
"That's why you sleep with Joy?" She whispered, nodding. She already knew. She had always known. "You do it for the rush. And so if you divorce me, sleeping with her won't give you that rush anymore. Because it won't be breaking any rules." Jerome's jaw locked. Of course she was right. She was always right, especially when it came to Jerome Clarke. "So you don't have to divorce me, Jerome,"
He stared her, eyes wide "What do you mean?"
Mara managed to meet his eyes "You want you be happy. I want to make you happy. I'll stay married to you, we'll live in this house, we'll sleep in our bed, and you can keep meeting up with Joy behind my back. I'll still find out, I'll still cry. Just to keep you happy."
"I'm never going to sleep with Joy again,"
"How many times have I heard that?" She rolled her eyes, standing up and taking her mug to the kitchen. After she placed it down Jerome gripped her arm. She stared down at him "Don't touch me, Jerome." She said in a quiet dangerous voice. Jerome dropped his hand "I'm doing this until I stop loving you. I'm doing this to give Poppy more time with me as her sister. I'm doing this to keep your dad happy for a little while longer. I'm not doing this because I want too."
"Mara," he whispered, "This time, it's the truth. No more Joy, never ever ever again," She watched him, as he began unbuttoning his blue shirt. He slid it off his shoulders. And Mara gasped.
It was across his chest. Big and bold, a large sideways rose, with dark green leaves, the large rose head covering almost his entire right part of his chest. And it was her name. It was Mara Jaffray he'd written. "You got a tattoo..." she whispered obviously. Jerome nodded, keeping his hands clasped tightly behind his back so he couldn't soothe the sore skin like he wanted too. "This...this must have hurt."
"Still does." He nodded "But worth it. I did this because I never want to sleep with anyone that isn't you again. And every morning I'll see this on my chest and remember when I did it. And the best part?" he managed a small smile "Which girl in their right mind would want to sleep with a guy who tattooed the name of the girl of his dreams on his chest?"
"Why Jaffray?" she whispered, staring at the tattoo "Why not Clarke?"
"Because then I might lie, and say you were a sister or something. No, no this way, this way I can't ever do something I regret."
Mara stared at him, and swallowed hard "Jerome..."
"I didn't think it would be enough," he said. He leaned against the wall, trapping himself. "So hit me. Hit me on the tattoo Mara, it's still sore as day, even the lightest touch will burn my skin. Hurt me." he whispered "Hurt me how I've hurt you. Punish me so I learn!" He closed his eyes.
Mara stared at him, tears running down her face, and she wasn't quite sure why. She raised her hand, and she slapped his chest, hard. She watched, watched as his eyes clenched even tighter shut, his whole body shook rigid, and a light sheen of sweat appeared. It really was hurting him. With another cry, she whacked him again, even harder. And again, and again, and again, and again, wanting him to feel exactly how he had made her feel. How she had pent up and carried around with her the pain of his betrayal. Over and over and over and over.
Whack, Whack, Whack, whack. Jerome stood there, stood there like a man, and he took it like a solider. Neck strained back. His body was on fire at this pain, and it was all he could do not to scream at the pain. But he knew, he knew this was what he had done to Mara. And finally realised, he finally realised that this was the pain he had put her through. This fire in his chest, and the urge to scream and to cry, but not make a sound, this was the pain he had made her feel.
It must have been over 50 times she slapped his tattoo, each time harder than before. And with a shuddering cry, she stepped back, and then further back, standing behind the counter. And her tears stop. She watched him. His chest, everywhere around his tattoo was a deep red. How hard had she hit him? He opened his eyes hesitantly, surprised that she had stopped. And he visibly relaxed, his shoulders slumped in relief that the pain was over. He looked down at his chest and winced at the red spots. But they would heal over time. As would the pain he had caused Mara.
"Jaffray," he whispered, nodding "Are we fixed?""
Mara stared him "We're on the mend."
Line Break
"Honestly," he chuckled, lying on the bed. She placed another icepack on his chest "I'm fine."
"How could I hit you?" she muttered to herself, ignoring him completely, staring at her hands. "I should know better than that. I'm a doctor for goodness sakes." He watched her wash her hands for the sixth time in an hour.
"I told you to hit me. You gave me exactly what I deserved."
"Shut up, Jerome." She snapped, coming to sit beside him, and drying her hands on her jeans, moving the icepack on his chest around smoothly, soothing the already fading stinging. "No one deserves that kind of pain." Jerome stared her,
"Yet we afflicted it on each other. The people we love most in the whole world."
Mara gently traced the tattoo "For your sake Jerome," she murmured with a smile "I hope we don't divorce. Otherwise this tattoo is going to make for an awkward conversation starter."
Line Break (LAST LINE BREAK, MAY WANNA STOP READING)
It took a few months. But eventually, Mara could come home, without being worried that there was someone upstairs. She could walk into their bedroom, and not find anything at all, she didn't even need to look. He had done it. He had truly truly done it. "I love you," a voice surprised her, wrapping their arms around her waist from behind.
She leaned back into him gently, the tattoo was completely healed. And there were no longer red lines on his back. "Love you too," she whispered truthfully. Her eyes flitted to an object on the floor, and before Jerome could release;
she kicked Mick's football jersey under the bed.
Guess they really were made for each other after all.
I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY! I didn't like this ending, but I wanted to do it that way. I mean Jerome cheats, because he loves the thrill, but he loves Mara so much more that he stopped, whereas Mara cheats because she doesn't really believe that Jerome can stop. But eventually Mara will make the sacrifice that Jerome has. And she'll get a tattoo, and stop herself from making the same mistake all over again.
sorry